When I was a little girl, I had certain notions about life mile-markers.
I thought every 16 year old had the pleasure of driving off into the sunset on their 16th birthday. I thought at 18 I would have total and utter control over my life choices. I thought everyone was married by 26. Bought a house by 28. Was smuggling baggies of cheerios into church to keep toddlers happy by 30.
As it turns out, I was wrong. At 16 I failed my drivers test. At 18 the only thing I had total and utter control over was the radio dial in my car. As for the rest, well, that’s a story for another day.
Life, as it turns out, is nothing like what I expected at 5 years old.
If we do a little creative math (the only kind of math I do) it is fair to say that in 9 months I turn 30. In light of this astounding/horrifying revelation, I have decided to do what I do very well … make a list, then write about it. In tough times and busy times, happy times and hectic times, I turn to list-making and writing. List-making is zen for my left-brain, writing appeases the more verbose right-side. Win-win.
Taking a cue from my dear friend Betsy, I have decided to do a 30-30 list. As 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of my arrival to this most delightful planet, it seems only fitting that my list follow suit.
The 30-30 list will include 30 simple things I have never done before. These items are to be completed by 11:59 p.m. on August 14, 2012. The clock starts ticking on January 1, 2011.
1. Pay for a stranger’s meal at a restaurant
2. Try tomato soup (with a side of grilled cheese and a pickle)
3. Attend “Lumberjack Days” in MN
4. Volunteer somewhere outside my comfort zone
5. Order Cristal
6. Take an actual camping trip (ugh)
7. Karaoke
8. Visit an alpaca farm
9. Interview 30 interesting people (and blog about them)
10. Organize a twitter fundraiser
11. Write 30 anonymous letters and stuff them in 30 random books at the library
12. Attend Rocky Horror Picture Show live
13. Be a witness at a stranger’s wedding in Vegas
14. Pick up the check for my parents’ meal
15. Send something anonymous and let the mystery live on forever
16. Take a train somewhere
17. Put my bare feet in the Atlantic Ocean
18. Go vegetarian for a month (and see if it sticks for longer)
19. Visit a Renaissance Fair
20. Launch a message in a bottle
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Ten open spots remain on the list. They have been left intentionally blank. I am hoping that you, my dear reader, will suggest something amazing that I simply cannot turn 31 without trying during my 30th year of life. Post your suggestion in a comment and it may end up on the list.
Ready? Go!
What say you?
While the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine did make amazing ice, even as a child I felt it was named under false pretenses. “Machine” is a relative term. To create 1/8 of a cup of ice shavings, you needed roughly 17 pounds of ice chips and a small army to share the burden of churning the crank. Home alone on a warm summer day with a craving for a sno-cone? Forget about it. Snoopy Sno-Cone making was only feasible when you had the entire extended family in town to take turns behind the handle until their arm cramped and crippled. I imagine this process to be similar to what the Amish must go through when churning butter.
Once upon a time, before the invention of Crocs, there was another type of hideous shoe made of synthetic materials simply not suited for the world of footwear. To this day I am still convinced they were the melted-down and reformed brainchild of the manufacturers of plastic Easter baskets. These shoes were called jellies. Perhaps you remember them. If you don’t remember the shoes themselves, perhaps you remember the sound of little girls around the world slamming their jellies against the pavement, desperately trying to dislodge the tiny pebbles that inevitably wedged their way into the spaces of the jelly heel.
